Waome

The Waome is in Lake Muskoka, a few hundred yards southwest of the north end of Keewaydin Island (one of the Seven Sisters Islands). The Waome was a wooden steamer, steel framed, being 78′ long at the keel, 14′ across her beam and displacing 60 tons and was first launched in 1912 and called the MINK. Later she was launched with the new name Waome (an Ojibwa Indian word meaning Water Lily). While on route from Port Carling to Beaumaris on Oct. 6, 1934, a freak wind caught her broadside. Of the six crewmen and one passenger on board at the time four crewmen were able to swim to Keewaydin Island and were rescued. Three perished with the Waome. One crew member, a minister and the captain died of a heart attack while swimming to shore after the ship went down.

The Waome is a well-known and popular dive site in Ontario. A commemorative plaque has been mounted on the wheelhouse of the wreck by the SOS (Save Ontario Shipwrecks). Wreck site is Latitude: 45.0775 Longitude: -79.521388

This dive to the Waome was on June 17, 2017 (Father’s Day Weekend). Previously John & I had dove the Waome back in 1990 with our good dive buddy Doug Robbins pictured here pointing to the plaque. RIP Doug – we miss you.